INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
I have been a fan of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program for many years. It was founded in Geneva in 1968, to provide a high-level …
GIANT TORTOISES
An army of reptilian bulldozers – giant tortoises – is helping a Galápagos island, Española, make an ecological comeback. Española’s burgeoning tortoise population – …
WAQRA PUKARA
Barely anyone has heard of Waqra Pukará. I certainly hadn’t. It is located reasonably close (130km) to Machu Picchu, in Peru, and is empty of …
A HUGE ANCIENT CITY IN THE AMAZON
A huge ancient city in the Amazon has been found, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation. The discovery changes what we know about …
RUSSIAN SPIES
I have tended to think that worrying about Russian spies was a remnant of the old Cold War. It has certainly faded from the news …
MASSIVE HIDDEN ECONOMY
A massive hidden economy in the Caribbean and Latin America is growing. One is tempted to immediately think of drug trafficking when you hear such …
WHO ACTUALLY DISCOVERED THE CARIBBEAN
The question of who actually discovered the Caribbean is a mystery that has been perplexing anthropologists for centuries. When Columbus arrived on Hispaniola in the …
CHIQUITITA
This story about Abba and UNICEF is a feel-good start to the New Year. It shows what a difference a simple act can achieve, and …
A 24-7 OPERATION
Fishing in international waters has become a 24-7 operation. A single country has accounted for about 80 percent of the fishing in the international waters …
ACEQUIAS
“Acequias” is a system of water management known as “sowing water”. The word is derived from the Arabic word “as-saquiva”, which means “water conduit” or …